HONG KONG - Thailand 's deputy prime minister Yukol Limlamthong was on hand at the closing ceremony of the Thailand International Film Destination Festival 2014 which wrapped Tuesday in Bangkok . Awards were presented to winners of the Amazing Thailand Film Challenge, in which 56 pairs of film-makers were given $1,000 and ground transport and challenged to make a film in seven days. The new talent / best film prize went to "Man," by Charlotte Rabate and...

LOS ANGELES, July 10 (Reuters) - Television newcomers crime drama "True Detective" from HBO and dark prison comedy "Orange is the New Black" from Netflix racked up a dozen Emmy nominations each on Thursday. Online streaming company Netflix Inc more than doubled its nominations for TV's highest honors last year, reaching 31 with political thriller "House of Cards" earning 13 nods. HBO's medieval thriller "Game of Thrones" led all nominees with 19 and...

Two newcomers are getting a free pass onto the board in Community Consolidated School District 89, where all four slots on the April ballot are uncontested. Jeff Hume, who has always had an interest in education but never could afford the time, wanted to put himself forward now while he has a child attending Glen Crest Middle School. "I just wanted to do something in education and if it wasn't going to be teaching, I thought this was a good way to give back to my community," he...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Television newcomers "True Detective," a crime drama from HBO, and "Orange is the New Black," a dark prison comedy from Netflix, racked up a dozen Emmy nominations each on Thursday in a challenge to stalwarts like "Breaking Bad" and "Modern Family. " Online streaming company Netflix Inc, the big disrupter of the Emmys last year, more than doubled its nominations for TV's highest honors to 31 this year. Its political thriller "House of Cards," which...

The bread aisle is getting flat — with a growing number of flat breads (tortillas, pitas, nan and more) stacked on shelves. Among the newcomers are a bun-type product variously called slims, flats and thins. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit consumer health group, served up a few kudos for these newcomers. They applauded the low calories of the rated thin buns: Each weighed in with 100 calories apiece versus the 150 to...

"White Queen" Rebecca Ferguson is the choice for the female lead in Paramount and Skydance's " Mission: Impossible 5 ." No formal offer has been presented to Ferguson yet, but sources say she is the choice of Cruise, director Chris McQuarrie and the studio. Cruise, Skydance's David Ellison and J.J. Abrams are producing. Plot details are being kept under wraps but sources say Ferguson's character would be some sort...

Nery Castillo was among the last players off the Fire training field just outside Toyota Park on a steamy Saturday, but he didn't mind putting in the extra time. "It's difficult to get to 100 percent in 10 days," the Fire's new forward/midfielder said. "I haven't played in a while, so every day after practice I stay and do extra work to try and catch up with everyone. " Castillo, 26, was soaked in sweat but smiling and loose while playing a hybrid version of tennis — kicking...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A few hours before Monday's game at Regions Field, Addison Russell and Jorge Soler engaged in an intense game of Ping-Pong in the visitor's clubhouse. The game was broken up before they could finish, but the two Cubs prospects should have plenty of time to determine the king of the table. If Cubs President Theo Epstein has any say in it, Russell and Soler could be battling it out for Ping-Pong supremacy for the next decade at least, while soon ushering...

Bears guard Frank Omiyale opened eyes last weekend after he pushed Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn almost out of Soldier Field to pave the way for Matt Forte's 32-yard touchdown run. "Just had better leverage," Omiyale said. Seven snaps before Omiyale's resounding block, linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa sprinted right to left, unloaded on running back Brandon Jacobs, then lassoed him to the ground, rodeo-style. "It wasn't the prettiest tackle," Tinoisamoa...

It figured Gwen Jorgensen would be riding in a van headed to the Madrid airport for a flight to Chicago when we talked earlier this week. Jorgensen always is going somewhere, including seven countries in eight weeks earlier this year, all of them a long way from her roots in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha. And in the last two years, she really has been going places in the triathlon, a sport Jorgensen first tried barely four years ago. Jorgensen comes into Saturday's...

Rangers newcomers make immediate impact in 6-1 win over Penguins NEW YORK -- The new guys were alright. Derick Brassard and Brian Boyle each finished with four points and Ryane Clowe had three points to lead the New York Rangers to a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night. Brassard, John Moore and Derek Dorsett were acquired at Wednesday afternoon's NHL trade deadline as part of a six-player trade which sent...

Former Oak Park River Forest High School and Triton College standout Andrew Godbold of Southeastern Louisiana University was named Louisiana College newcomer of the year, as voted on by sportswriters. Godbold hit .348 with eight homers and 57 RBIs. The outfielder was also drafted in the 23rd round by the Los Angeles Dodgers and will have to decide if he wants to finish his college career or start a professional career. -Jeff Vorva, Special to the Tribune

The lieutenant governor's office holds little actual power in Illinois, but since Pat Quinn rose from the post to become governor upon Rod Blagojevich's ouster, a dozen Democratic and Republican candidates have lined up for the job. Quinn is among a handful of lieutenant governors who stepped up to replace a sitting chief executive. Before that his experience was like that of most who held the No. 2 job -- laboring in relative obscurity with few important duties and little...

' Silicon Valley ' Chips Away at Life The genius of the writing on "Silicon Valley" is that it essentially springs from one existential joke: We've never had more access to high-tech toys and our lives have erupted into chaos. To wit, Mike Judge's freshman HBO series gleefully mocks the inventions meant to make everyday tasks easier but that, ultimately, lead to increased stress levels and, in case of neurotic 26-year-old programming whiz Richard (Thomas Middleditch), a dire medical...

Ken Burmeister agonized through a 5-22 season in his first year as Loyola coach, but it required only a season-opening exhibition victory against a Milwaukee-based team of post-college players to convince him that his second year would be different. "I saw more dunks (in that game) than all last year," said an elated Burmeister after the opening exhibition. "And more smiles." Most of the dunks, causing most of the smiles, had come from three tall members of a seven-man group voted the best incoming class in the...

By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Hertz , the second biggest U.S. car rental firm, is looking to broaden its business and could allow its cars to be rented via Uber and its controversial smartphone app, Group President Michel Taride told Reuters on Wednesday. Uber's app - which summons rides at the touch of a button and prompted protests by taxi drivers in London and Paris earlier this month - has revolutionised travel in many American and European cities by allowing...

For the nation's rural sociologists meeting here over the weekend, a trip to Chicago brought its own special scares. "Tell me," asked one, over a sudden roar, "are there always jets flying this low over Grant Park?" No, he was assured, it was not a post-9/11 security measure. Just an air and water show. On the other hand, the country mice had a good deal of advice for their city cousins. Much of the talk at the 65th annual convention of the Rural Sociological Society,...

With most of the offseason's heavy lifting finished on the personnel side, the Bears now enter a vital phase of their build-up to next season. A three-week stretch of organized team activities begins Tuesday at Halas Hall with an overhauled roster looking to come together on the field. Several important position battles will commence. And a series of significant system changes on defense have been promised as well. Coordinator Mel Tucker has ideas to test out and new players...